Meet Austin Basten, JD — or Duff, depending on who you ask — a next-generation steward (and son of Yorktown Funds founder David D. Basten), providing a steady hand behind the scenes at Yorktown.
To investors, he’s the firm’s Chief Compliance Officer. To his family, he’s a collector of random facts, the fallback carpool driver, and the mastermind behind a family Easter egg hunt so legendary that his brother Dave M. Basten (Managing Director at Yorktown) once cut a vacation short just so he, his wife and son wouldn’t miss it.
In this post, Austin shares how a surprise Series 7 exam when he was just 19 followed by the Enron implosion after he graduated from college led him to compliance law — and why lessons learned at home still guide how he works alongside his dad, brother, and sister.
After my freshman year at Emory University, I came home to Lynchburg for the summer without much of a plan. Dad quickly decided I had too much free time, so he signed me up to take the Series 7 exam. I spent a month cramming, took the test, passed, and that was my introduction to the industry — all because my dad believed idle hands are the devil’s playthings.
I graduated from college with a business degree, then traveled around the U.S. for a few months. The Enron Corporation scandal blew up while I was in college. That accounting fraud and its fallout triggered an avalanche of new regulations that started to come into effect shortly after I graduated. Suddenly, every investment firm needed a full-time Chief Compliance Officer.
Dad initially brought in a seasoned SEC expert to help set up the role, but we needed someone on-site every day. That ended up being me. But first I went to law school at Washington and Lee University, where I focused on administrative and securities law.
What I do is not exactly TV-legal-drama material. Today, while my former law school classmates swap courtroom stories, I get excited about a clean Form ADV. But someone has to keep the ship steady, and I like that it’s me.
Guilty. I’ve always been the kid who loved reading encyclopedias for fun. Now it’s random facts from the internet, PBS, or YouTube.
I’m also the family’s go-to in a pinch. Need a babysitter or someone to cover school pickup? I’m there. And I try to be the fun uncle, too, hosting an Easter egg hunt so legendary my brother Dave and his wife once cut a family trip to Disney short so they wouldn’t miss it.
It’s not just about candy — there are real lessons baked into it. One is not giving up. One year, two kids spotted the same remote-control car. One got there first; the other was crushed. But we all encouraged him to keep going. Sure enough, he found another car.
It’s also a crash course in economics. When we were kids, my brother Walter was fast, grabbing whatever candy he saw. Meanwhile, my sister Brentz East (Portfolio Manager at Yorktown) was strategic. She’d go for Cadbury Eggs, not because she liked them, but because she knew that Walter did. She’d trade him Cadbury Eggs for piles of other candy. Both thought they got the better end of the deal.
After the hunt, everyone circles the wagons — they sit down, open their eggs, and start negotiating trades. It’s supply, demand, and strategy — all in a backyard Easter egg hunt.
To people who know me well, I’m Duff — that’s my middle name. For people who don’t know me well, it’s caused some confusion. For instance, in college I almost failed the participation part of a class because the professor thought Austin never showed up. Meanwhile, Duff was there every day, raising his hand, asking and answering questions. One day he emailed me saying I should be worried about my participation grade. I had to explain that I was the same student who spoke up in nearly every class — that Austin and Duff are one and the same!
I run — but not for the “runner’s high” everyone talks about. For me, running helps me untangle my thoughts, sort through what’s on my plate, and organize. If something important is happening— like an annual report or audit— I think it through while on a run.
I actually got hooked because of my sister Brentz. She convinced me to sign up for the Disney Half Marathon with her. We trained, ran it, and walked away with the Donald Duck medal all finishers get. It’s such a fun race. Where else do you get to run in costume?
Honestly, Dad lucked out. The individual strengths that Brentz, my brother Dave, and I each have fit exactly what the firm needs. Dave is competitive and strategic — perfect for sales. Brentz is sharp, analytical, and great with numbers — a natural portfolio manager. And my mindset works for compliance and the legal side.
Each of us sees things differently, which, together, makes us stronger. We all genuinely want the firm to succeed. It’s not just a job for us. We see this as something bigger, something we want to keep going for the next generation. So even when we have different perspectives, we’re all pulling in the same direction.